Where She Went
by legocameragirl
Summary: When Harumi wakes up in a strange place, she meets a boy who helps her with a simple, yet life changing question. (Takes place after Season 9)


**Where She Went**

Everything was black. Black as nothing. A void of emptiness. The last thing Harumi remembered was staring into Lloyd's eyes as the building she was on crumbled beneath her.

Then, she opened her eyes slightly. She saw white. Pearly, ghostly white. She felt as though she was resting on a cloud. She sat straight up, and looked around. The room she was in was like a wide, open, milky-white box. There were no doors, no windows, just swirling, milky-white.

As she stood up, she felt her hands press on the floor. It felt soft and mysterious, like mist or steam. It felt as though her hand would go right through the floor if it wasn't dense and solid. When Harumi was finally up on her feet, she looked down at her body. She was no longer in her Quiet One outfit, but was in a simple black tank top, midnight blue leggings, and raven colored boots. She touched her face. Her hair was down in its natural form, and from what she felt, she was no longer wearing any makeup.

"Is this the departed realm?" Harumi thought to herself. Before she could question this thought any further, a voice spoke from behind her.

"Welcome."

Harumi spun around and found herself facing a boy. He had messy, charcoal colored hair with a deep green streak through it. He had shadowy circles around his eyes and he was wearing a simple, dark green jacket, with lighter green jeans and sneakers.

"Who are you?" Harumi asked nervously, tensing up.

"My name's Morro," the boy replied. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you."

Harumi softened. She stared into his sea green eyes. "Is this the Departed Realm?" she asked, then staring around her.

"No," Morro said. "But you're very close to it." He continued. "This room is the barrier between life and death."

"What do you mean?"

Morro walked with her. "When a wicked soul spends their last few moments, few seconds even," he breathed, "doing something good and pure, then they are sent to this room." He stopped, and so did Harumi. "Where they are given a choice."

Harumi turned to Morro while they continued to pace around the room. "A choice to what?" She asked in a curious voice.

"Isn't it obvious?" Morro smirked. "A choice to go to the Departed Realm and wither away your last regrets, OR," he paused, "to go back and redeem yourself."

Harumi thought as she heard this. When she was on top of the building, she thought she was as good as dead. And now she was being presented an opportunity to go back and make things truly right.

"Ah! Here they are!" Morro interrupted her thoughts. She looked up. Six wisps of black smoke had appeared, dancing around the room. They melted into the walls, like watercolors on wet paper. They formed into six rectangular shapes. After a little more detail was added, Harumi made those shapes out to be doors.

"Behind one of these doors is your fate," Morro said calmly.

"Which door do I pick?" Harumi asked timidly.

"Whichever one appeals to you the most," Morro replied.

Harumi looked at the six doors. They all appeared to be made out of a swirly, smoky, watercolor-like substance. They were the color of nightmares and ravens and all things to send chills down your spine. But at one of them, the fifth door, Harumi saw something puzzling. Mint green swirls were appearing in front of the door, disappearing as quickly as they came.

Harumi knew this door. Whatever may be behind it, this was the door she wanted. She walked over slowly and nervously. With each step, the room seemed to grow foggier, and more dreamlike. As her fingertips brushed against the tip of the bedrock black yet soft as a feather door knob, she froze. A thought occurred to her. She turned back to Morro.

"Yes?" Morro asked in a soft, innocent voice.

"How did you end up here?" Harumi asked. "What did you do to redeem yourself?"

Morro gave her a sad smile. "I have done terrible things to the Ninja that I would rather not look back upon. But I will say, that in my last seconds, I did manage to patch things up with my old master, Wu." He stared down at his feet.

Harumi understood, but, there was one thing she was confused about. "Why haven't you gone back then?" she asked. "Why are you still here?"

Morro looked up at her, and continued to give her a sad smile. "It was never my destiny to befriend the Ninja, or go back and apologize for all the damage and pain I have caused." Morro said this with a very guilty tone in his voice. "But when I awoke here, it was as though I knew everything about this little blank room as soon as I opened my eyes." Morro looked around the area with a tiny, yet still slightly somber smile. "I once said that no one is better than me, but I realize that was wrong. I wanna put others before myself. So I stay here, and help others who come decide their fate." He turned back to look at Harumi. "Behind that door is the fate that your heart most desperately wants."

Harumi turned to the door, and stared down at the knob. She put her fingers on it for a brief second. It was beginning to feel softer. She thought for a moment and then spoke.

"What do you think fate will be?" Harumi knew this was a stupid question to ask. Morro could not see inside her head. So how could he know the fate she wanted? She heard Morro give a small chuckle from behind her, and she turned around to look at him. He was smiling at her, a real smile. She could not help but smile back.

"I think I know," he said.

Harumi's heart thumped inside her chest. "What is it?" She asked quickly. But the foggy, milky-white, dreamlike clouds were closing in on Morro. And soon, he was gone.

"Morro?" Harumi called out. But nobody answered.

She was calling out into a blank void. Harumi slowly shifted her gaze back to the door. It was still a swirly, twirly, smoky-black mass, with mint green streaks appearing in front of it every two seconds or so.

Harumi gulped, for she had no clue as to what her fate would be. Perhaps she would end up in the Departed Realm, and her regrets would become dust over the years. Or maybe she would go back to Ninjago, and be offered a second chance. Whatever the case, Harumi was ready. She had accepted her fate on the crumbling building, and she was ready to accept her fate now. Whatever her heart wanted most desperately, it would get it.

She clenched her fist on the knob, and turned it, pushing open the door as fast as she could. A blinding light met her eyes, and as soon as she looked at it, she felt nothing, like she had been knocked out again. Then, after a few seconds of more darkness, she felt something. She was lying down on what felt like hard, cracked concrete. This time it was harder to open her eyes. She felt tired, and injured.

There was a sharp ringing in her ears, and then she heard fuzzy noises, but she couldn't tell what they were. She let out a long, shuttering breath and squinted her eyes. She could see the fuzzy outline of grey shapes, and a bright blue sky, and something golden from up above. Harumi gave a small smile, closing her eyes to rest.

"Thank you Morro," Harumi whispered.

Then, she heard voices, talking in an alarmed manner. Her ears were still pounding and ringing, so every word she heard was muddled, and fuzzy. Some of the voices belonged to strangers, people who Harumi didn't remember meeting. Some were slightly familiar. But one, despite being distorted and faint, she instantly recognized.

"Lloyd?" she breathed.

* * *

**Sooooo…. Hehe… I have no excuse. I'm so sorry for being gone so long!** **I will update The Element Prince and the Dragon Thief as soon as I can. I promise. Until then, I hope you enjoy this little oneshot I wrote about Harumi deciding whether to stay or go. Soo… yeah!.. Let me know if you want me to continue this (I'm considering turning it into a full book), and that's it. Again, I'm so sorry I've been gone so long and will update my story as soon as I can.**

**~legocameragirl.**


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